Tips for staying organized
Kendra Noll-Scheier & Laura Wagner—October 13, 2023
Life sure can be full, beautiful, messy, and can sometimes move a bit faster than we’d like. How do we keep our homes feeling clean and organized, spend meaningful time with our loved ones, find time for ourselves to do what we love, have a fulfilling work life, the list goes on? Living in a way that feels authentic to us and finding the time to focus on what matters and needs to get done is not always easy.
But to make your lives easier on the organization side of things, we do have a few tips to help you in your day to day that work well for us! The main trick? Start small and be sure to praise yourself all along the way for ANYTHING that gets done. It’s in the small victories and celebrations that we really see change, habits formed, and a shift in our mindsets and accomplishments.
Do a little bit every day-
Sometimes it feels like we don’t know where to start because there is SO MUCH to be done. But if you can shift your mindset to remember “EVERY LITTLE BIT COUNTS” it helps so much! If you pick up just a few items a day, if you put just one load of laundry away, it all counts and contributes to the bigger picture.
Set a timer for 30 minutes and work on one space.
See how much you can get done and then call it quits. Sometimes it may feel hard to know where to start if there is much to be done. But try to just choose a spot that matters to you, don’t overthink it, and get to work for 30 minutes. Having the time limit is a great strategy to prevent overwhelm. Pair it with music or a podcast to make it enjoyable if that’s your thing and don’t forget to feel good about yourself afterwards!
Use the “touch it once” rule.
If you pick something up, take it to its home right away! So often we fall into the trap of moving one pile to another pile. If we only touch it once it saves on time and prevents pile ups.
Play to your strengths and WHO YOU ARE-
Consider what tasks are easiest and most intuitive to you. Consider if you are a morning or night person- we are morning people and are our best between 8am-12 pm. In the morning is when we like to do daily chores like throw a load of laundry in, organize a small space, or practice self care.
Featured Space Tips & Tricks-”Your Kitchen”
Use the timer trick and see what you can get done in 30 minutes!
Unload the dishwasher to a song and see if you can get it done. If you are like us, we hate unloading the dishwasher! But when paired with music, it keeps us focused and we love the challenge of seeing what can get done during one song.
Have kids that need your attention after dinner? If you live in a family with multiple caregivers, have one person clean the kitchen while the other plays with the kids. Alternate rolls every other day to change it up!
Adaptation to this: Involve older kids in this process by giving everyone a helpful job to do.
Head on over to www.authenticlivingco.com for more information on home organization, living authentically, and to see the services we offer.